


look to the stars

by orphan_account



Series: FE3HLGBT Week [3]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Butch Leonie, Gen, Nb!Byleth - Freeform, Nbyleth if you will, Trans Female Character, Trans Leonie, Vague feelings about the trans experience TM
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-08
Updated: 2019-10-08
Packaged: 2020-11-27 20:44:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20954648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Leonie goes to Byleth for advice about her nebulous feelings surrounding her gender and her relationship with it.(For fe3hlgbtweek on tumblr! Prompt: stars)





	look to the stars

Leonie shifted awkwardly from one foot to another. She had told herself she would do this today, and Leonie wasn’t usually one to shy away from something when she’d made up her mind. But she hadn’t always been the most polite to Byleth, and they would be well within their rights to turn down her attempt at a visit. It was well past Byleth’s usual office hours. Night had fallen across Garreg Mach, leaving it illuminated by only the moon and the occasional lantern that dotted the common paths.

But turning away wouldn’t accomplish anything. Before she could think in more circles about it, Leonie raised a fist and knocked. No turning back now.

The door swung open. Byleth looked as unruffled as ever, face expressionless, hair messy. There was already a dim light flickering from a lantern within their room.

“Hi, Professor.” Leonie said with a nervous wave. “Sorry to bother you so late. It’s uh, a personal matter. No yelling this time, I swear.”

Byleth didn’t even blink. “Come in, then.” And they backed off, gesturing with one arm. Leonie obeyed, trying at the last minute to stomp any dirt off of her boots under Byleth’s inscrutable gaze before entering.

Leonie walked in, casting her gaze around. Yup, looked exactly how it did last time she was here. Organized clutter, messier than you one would expect from the monastery’s new darling professor. But Leonie wasn’t here to judge. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Byleth shut the door behind them and leant against it, arms crossed, eyes locking with Leonie’s.

“How do you do it?” Leonie blurted, unable to stand the silence for a moment longer. 

“Do what?”

“All of it. The whole school knows who you are and what you do-” who you do, was really what Leonie meant - “And you’re so blunt about it.” They weren’t afraid to keep their hair long, to keep on outfits that showed off skin and breasts and tights, and they weren’t afraid to hold their head above it all and demand that the world see them as they were.

Byleth cocked their head. “Do you feel the same as I do?”

Leonie shrugged helplessly, resisting the urge to chew on her nails. “Not quite. I mean, I know I’m a woman. But not the kind everyone expects. One wrong move and they’ll think I’m a man again. Make-up and men and jewelry… There’s nothing wrong with it, but isn’t me.”

There was no response from Byleth, but Leonie didn’t know what else to say. It was a different kind of womanhood, in her mind, one she saw reflected in knights like Catherine and Shamir. But they were out of reach, unlike the professor. Byleth moved at last, unlatching the windows and deftly moving aside the storm shutters. They gestured for Leonie to join them in leaning against the sill, upper body out in the cool night air.

“I’m not the best with words. No one in my family was. But Jeralt, my father, Dad- he was wise. We spent many nights camped under the open sky. He always told me that for every person on the ground, there was a matching star in the sky. A million stars, a million ways to be a person. Without the stars, the night would be dark and empty. So live your life how you want. No one can stop you unless you let them. And if they try, they can answer to my sword.”

It was probably the most Leonie had ever heard Byleth speak outside of a lecture. Here, side by side with Byleth, beneath the expanse of the galaxy, it all seemed so simple.

“Thanks, Professor.”

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos/comments of any kind are always appreciated! If you frequent tumblr, find me over there @fefemslash!


End file.
